How to Find and Close Old Online Accounts

Remember that old photo-sharing site you signed up for years ago but only used for a couple of months? How about the site with recipes that seemed like a great idea but wasn’t particularly user friendly? And then there’s the game that you enjoyed for half an hour but barely remember, and the music streaming service, and the gardening app…

It makes you wonder what else is out there that you signed up for, doesn’t it? In all likelihood there are online accounts floating around out there, complete with your name, contact information, maybe even a password you reuse often (don’t do that!) or ties to other accounts. This can be a serious security risk.

But how do you close an online account you don’t even remember you have? The following tips will have you on your way:

Start with the accounts you remember.

Chances are as you go through them, they will spark your memory: “Oh, that’s right! There was that other music streaming website I used while I was working out. Oh—and the calendar that tracked my workouts. And the free pedometer!” It’ll probably go on and on like that.

Search your e-mail for terms that help you dig deeper.

These could include “Confirm your account” and “Thanks for joining” and “beta.” The search can be a bit time consuming, but it’s a great way to spot old accounts. Remember to search any secondary or lesser-used e-mail accounts you may have. Going through the steps to recover a lost password for them will be good practice for navigating the accounts you’ll be deleting.

In all likelihood there are online accounts floating around out there… This can be a serious security risk.

Sift through your login managers.

For example, do you use Facebook (or other third-party sites) frequently to log onto websites, comment on articles, or access other social media? Check the permissions settings to see what sites you’ve got saved there and delete ones you no longer use. Also, check all of your browsers’ password managers’ stored passwords. Finally, if you use an app like LastPass to store your passwords, periodically check and remove unwanted websites.

Each website is different, and some are far easier than others to navigate. Others seem to go out of their way to make it very difficult for you to walk away. Happily there are resources such as Delete Your Account and Account Killer that provide step-by-step instructions, saving time and eliminating guesswork. It’s not a bad idea to check out these sites the next time you want to create a new account. If it’s going to be next to impossible to delete it someday, you might want to think twice about opening it in the first place.

So tighten up your online security by deleting all of those old online accounts you no longer use. You’ll feel a huge sense of accomplishment when you’re done, and have a safer digital life for it. Plus, it will probably be fun to remember that phase in your life when you signed up for the website devoted entirely to creating color palettes.